When You Wish Upon a Star | Disney Wiki | Fandom powered by Wikia When You Wish Upon a Star Share When You Wish Upon a Star is a featured article , which means it has been identified as one of the best articles produced by the Disney Wiki community. If you see a way this page can be updated or improved without compromising previous work, please feel free to contribute. When You Wish Upon a Star Composer Now That's What I Call Movies (UK) Followed By [Source] "When You Wish Upon a Star" is a song written by Leigh Harline and Ned Washington for Walt Disney 's 1940 adaptation of Pinocchio . [1] The original version was sung by Jiminy Cricket ( Cliff Edwards ) [1] and is heard over the opening credits and in the final scene of the film. It has since become the representative song of The Walt Disney Company . The recording by Cliff Edwards and Chorus was released by Victor Records as catalogue number 261546 and 26477A (in USA) and by EMI on the His Master's Voice Label as catalogue number BD 821.

Edwards recorded another version in 1940 for an American Decca Records "cover version" of the score of Pinocchio, conducted by Victor Young and featuring soprano Julietta Novis and The King's Men. It was first released on a 4-record 78-RPM album set, and years later as one side of an LP, backed by selections from The Wizard of Oz. A recording with Christian Rub (with Mister Geppetto 's voice), Cliff Edwards and Chorus was released by Victor Records as catalogue number 26479B (in USA) and by EMI on the His Master's Voice label as catalogue number BD 823. It won the 1940 Academy Award for Best Original Song. [1] It was also the first Disney song to win an Oscar.

Contents When you wish upon a star Makes no difference who you are Anything your heart desires If your heart is in your dream No request is too extreme When you wish upon a star As dreamers do She brings to those who love The sweet fulfillment of Like a bolt out of the blue Fate steps in and sees you through When you wish upon a star Your dreams come true When your heart is in your dream No request is too extreme Chorus (Singing): When you wish upon a star Your dreams come true You'll find your dreams come true Influence The American Film Institute ranked the song seventh in their 100 Greatest Songs in Film History, the highest ranked Disney animated film song, and also one of only four Disney animated film songs to appear on the list, with the others being " Some Day My Prince Will Come " from Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs ranked at #19, " Beauty and the Beast " from Beauty and the Beast ranked at #62, and " Hakuna Matata " from The Lion King ranked at #99. The song reached the top one in Billboard's Record Buying Guide, a predecessor of the retail sales chart.

Popular versions included Louis Armstrong, Glenn Miller, Guy Lombardo, Horace Heidt and, of course, Cliff Edwards. In Japan , Sweden, Finland, Norway and Denmark , the song has become a Christmas song, often referring to the Star of Bethlehem. The Swedish language version is called Ser du stjärnan i det blå, roughly translated: "do you see the star in the blue(sky)", and the Danish title is "Når du ser et stjerneskud", which translates as "When you see a shooting star". In Denmark, Sweden, Finland and Norway, the song is played on television every Christmas Eve in the traditional Disney one-hour Christmas cabaret, and the gathering of the entire family to watch this is considered a Scandinavian tradition. The song was also covered by Dion and the Belmonts in 1960 . The song was covered by KISS bassist Gene Simmons, on his eponymous solo album in 1978 . Simmons said that he covered it because he related to ut and was a fan of Disney movies. "When I first heard that song I could barely speak English but I knew the words were true.

Anybody can have what they want, the world and life can give its rewards to anyone." [2] In 1986 , Linda Ronstadt recorded the classic song for her Platinum-certified album For Sentimental Reasons. Released as the album's first single, it peaked at #32 in Billboard Magazine at year's end. Billy Joel performed the song in the 1991 direct-to-video special Simply Mad About the Mouse: A Musical Celebration of Imagination and its soundtrack. A video was produced with Joel featuring as an animated character interacting with famous Disney characters. [3] In 1995 , Alvin and the Chipmunks and The Chipettes recorded a cover as the final track to their Disney-themed album When You Wish Upon a Chipmunk. The song is presented twice in Disney's RocketMan ( 1997 ). The first time it appears in the film, it is sung by Fred Z. Randall (played by Harland Williams ) while looking at a star outside of a spaceship. Then at the end of the film, an abridged version of the original by Cliff Edwards plays as Randall and Julie Ford (Jessica Lundy) dance together on a spaceship.

Neil Diamond covered the song on his 1998 album The Movie Album: As Time Goes By. 'N Sync recorded a cover for Disneymania ( 2002 ), Ashley Gearing covered the song for Disneymania 2 ( 2003 ), Jesse McCartney covered it for Disneymania 3 ( 2005 ), and Kate Voegele performed it for Disneymania 6 ( 2008 ). In 2005, Julie Andrews selected the original Cliff Edwards recording for the album Julie Andrews Selects Her Favorite Disney Songs. In 2009 , Meaghan Jette Martin covered the song for the DVD release from Disney's 70th Anniversary Platinum Edition of Pinocchio. The Library of Congress deemed the song "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant" and preserved it into the National Recording Registry in 2009. [4] On February 15 , 2011 , Celtic Woman released a cover of the song as the first track on their album Celtic Woman: Lullaby.

[5] Brian Wilson admits that the melody of The Beach Boys hit song "Surfer Girl", which has the same AABA form, [6] is loosely based on the Dion and the Belmonts version of "When You Wish Upon a Star". [7] [8] [9] [10] Wilson also covered it on his album In the Key of Disney, which was released on October 25 , 2011. Later, on Christmas Day 2011, Jessica Jung of Girls' Generation covered the song for their MBC Christmas Special. On 2012 album Disney - Koe no Oujisama, which features various seiyus covering Disney songs, this song was covered by Takahiro Sakurai Rod Stewart covered the song for his 2012 Christmas album Merry Christmas, Baby. [11] Idina Menzel also recorded the song for her 2014 Christmas album Holiday Wishes. [12] Avant-garde guitarist Buckethead occasionally plays a shortened version live.

A cover version of the orchestral underscore is used in the Walt Disney World commercial: "Wake Up Call" to replace " A Dream Is a Wish Your Heart Makes " as seen in the Pocahontas 1996 VHS tape. "When You Wish" was the corps song of the Star of Indiana Drum and Bugle Corps . [13] In addition, it was the first musical chart in Star's first competitive program in 1985 (as the entire musical book was drawn from Disney properties). Disney icon "When You Wish Upon a Star", along with Mickey Mouse , has become an icon of The Walt Disney Company. In the 1950s and 1960s, Walt Disney used the song in the opening sequences of all the editions of the Walt Disney anthology television series . It has also been used to accompany the Walt Disney Pictures opening logos – including the present-day logo – since the 1980s. The ships of the Disney Cruise Line use the first seven notes of the song's melody as their horn signals. Additionally, many productions at Disney theme parks – particularly fireworks shows and parades – employ the song. Other Versions Turkish Jazz The piece has become a jazz standard.

[14] It has been performed by artists including Louis Armstrong, June Christy, Dave Brubeck Quartet, Glenn Miller, Joe Pass, the Keith Jarrett Trio, The Manhattan Transfer, Sun Ra, Jason Becker and Bill Evans. Lawsuit The owner of the rights to the song, Bourne Co. Music Publishers, sued Twentieth Century Fox Film Corp., Fox Broadcasting Company, Fuzzy Door Productions, Cartoon Network, Walter Murphy and Seth MacFarlane to try to stop distribution of a 2003 Family Guy episode entitled "When You Wish Upon a Weinstein" that parodies the song in a version called I Need a Jew. A federal judge ruled against Bourne Co, stating that parodying the song did not infringe on the company's copyright. [15] References ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Roberts, David (2006). British Hit Singles & Albums (19th ed.). London: Guinness World Records Limited. p. 134. ISBN 1-904994-10-5 . When You Wish Upon A Star -- Disney - YouTube When You Wish Upon A Star -- Disney Want to watch this again later?

Sign in to add this video to a playlist. Need to report the video? Sign in to report inappropriate content. Rating is available when the video has been rented. This feature is not available right now. Please try again later. Published on Aug 25, 2014 "When You Wish Upon A Star," the timeless Disney classic, is sung here during the magical visit of The Blue Fairy. It was written by Leigh Harline and Ned Washington for Walt Disney's 1940 adaptation of Pinocchio, and was sung by Cliff Edwards, who voiced the Jiminy Cricket character in the film. The song received the Academy Award for Best Original Song, and was Disney's first Oscar-winning song. Lyrics: Walt Disney - When You Wish Upon A Star - Performed By Daniel P. Collins - YouTube Walt Disney - When You Wish Upon A Star - Performed By Daniel P. Collins Want to watch this again later? Sign in to add this video to a playlist. Need to report the video? Sign in to report inappropriate content. Rating is available when the video has been rented. This feature is not available right now. Please try again later. Published on Jun 11, 2011 Hey Folks!

Here's my rendition of Walt Disney's Classic Theme Song: When You Wish Upon A Star. Now, I'm definitely no Jiminy Cricket, but I think I do a good job. Give it a chance and take a listen to it. I like to think most people will like it. I've attached some info about the history of the song from Wikipedia (The most accurate resource on the interwebs). Anyway, I hope y'all like my rendition of it. Have a good Weekend! DanC Song Info "When You Wish upon a Star" is a song written by Leigh Harline and Ned Washington for Walt Disney's 1940 adaptation of Pinocchio. The original version of the song was sung by Cliff Edwards in the character of Jiminy Cricket, and is heard over the opening credits and again in the final scene of the film. The song has since become the theme song to The Walt Disney Company.

The American Film Institute ranked "When You Wish Upon A Star" seventh in their 100 Greatest Songs in Film History, the highest ranked Disney animated film song, and also one of only four Disney animated film songs to appear on the list, the others being "Some Day My Prince Will Come" from Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs ranked at nineteenth, "Beauty and the Beast" from Beauty and the Beast ranked at #62, and "Hakuna Matata" from The Lion King, ranked at #99. The song reached the top five in Billboard's Record Buying Guide, a predecessor of the retail sales chart. Popular versions included Glenn Miller, Guy Lombardo, Horace Heidt and of course, Cliff Edwards. The song has -- along with Mickey Mouse -- become an icon of The Walt Disney Company. In the 1950s and 1960s, Walt Disney used the song in the opening sequences of all the editions of the Walt Disney anthology television series. It has also been used to accompany the Walt Disney Pictures opening logos -- including the present-day logo -- since the 1980s.

The ships of the Disney Cruise Line use the first seven notes of the song's melody as their horn signals. Additionally, many productions at Disney theme parks -- particularly fireworks shows and parades -- employ the song. Pretty Comical Lawsuit (Well, I find it funny) The owner of the rights to the song, Bourne Co. Music Publishers, sued Twentieth Century Fox Film Corp., Fox Broadcasting Company, Fuzzy Door Productions, Cartoon Network, Walter Murphy and Seth MacFarlane to try to stop distribution of a 2003 Family Guy episode entitled "When You Wish Upon a Weinstein" that parodies the song in a version called I Need A Jew. A federal judge ruled against Bourne Co, stating that parodying the song did not infringe on the company's copyright. Category When You Wish Upon A Star: The Musical Making of Walt Disney’s Pinocchio • Animated Views Fairy Theme (the Blue Fairy) Crickey Theme (Jiminy) When You Wish Upon a Star (hope and morals –Jiminy and the Blue Fairy) Turn on the Old Music Box (simple joy – Gepetto and Pinocchio) As composer Paul J.

Smith explained it in Etude Music Magazine, “the songs are the first basis of the complete score. We like to use them as Leitmotives, to suggest both characters and situations throughout the picture. Take, for instance, the little theme with the hoppity-hop rhythm that symbolizes Jiminy Cricket. It is stated as the Cricket’s tune, and appears as the inner voice of a more important theme, or merely as a rhythmic suggestion, in every scene in which Jiminy is about to assume the center of the stage. The star song is sung but twice in the picture, but it appears (in free variations, parallel chords, and so on) in every sequence where Jiminy and the Fairy combine their power in working out Pinocchio’s destiny. The development of these variations of the theme requires the most detailed care. The spectator must be aware of the theme and of its slightly altered form, but neither theme nor variation may at any time rise to the point of occupying his conscious attention.” In animation, each character has its own artistic supervisor, their own way of moving and expressing. Now, through music, each character has its own way of feeling.

Without Leitmotiv, music can depict sadness in general, or any other feeling, yet it does not really participate in the scene. Through a theme, focus is now set on one definite character, which really helps read the scene a more accurate way, especially when many characters are involved at the same time in a shot. Consequently, the film is easier to comprehend and to be involved in; it gets more pleasant and more moving. Thus, if the theme of the Blue Fairy experiences no modification (she symbolizes something eternal and unalterable, something of divine provenance), Pinocchio’s theme varies the most, according to the situations. For example, from major key in the introductory sequence, it turns into a minor key in Sad Reunion, and mostly in Message from the Blue Fairy, with a tragic unfolding that Jiminy’s hopitty-hop rhythm helplessly tries to alleviate.

Each one of these themes (to which Honest John’s Hi-Deedle-Dee-Dee has to be added) occurs several times in the film, ensuring the togetherness of the whole: the story of Pinocchio is actually a series of episodes, with not much connection between them (Stromboli on one side, Pleasure Island on the other, to end with the episode of Monstro the Whale). It is the coherence of the music, the finding of the same themes in each episode, that gives the film its unity. The process allows to imprint a strong identity to the whole film from the sonorous viewpoint, to create a musical universe of its own, easily recognizable, the same way artistic directors create a characteristic, visual universe. Through the impregnation of these themes in the audience’s mind and heart, it allowes to make the world of the film and its values even more pregnant and reachable. After Pinocchio, this technique is to be abundantly resumed in the Disney films to follow, and with further developments, from composers such as Oliver Wallace to Alan Menken.

But that’s another story… Musical Effects If the music complements the story in terms of the characters, it can also act as a counterpart to the visual effects, for the most unexpected of…effects! Indeed, Pinocchio offers the most stunning visual effects since Snow White, that help put the emphasis on certain key elements or key moments. Thus, the opening shot of the village deserves in itself all our consideration. From the Wishing Star to Gepetto’s Workshop, it is completely shot with the famous Multiplane Camera, that is to be used in an even more complex way for the sequence of the town coming to life the following morning, with twelve levels of depth that grasp at random, simple moments of the people’s everyday life. The other most stunning effects come at the end of the movie, during the submarine and maritime episodes, when Pinocchio plunges to search for his father and then runs from Monstro – the climax of the film. But the value of all those astonishing and then state-of-the-art effects (perhaps even more impressive today) does not only lay on the technical or make-believe aspect of them. In fact, they’re really part of the substance of the film.

Through those two shots of the village, simple life is promoted – a life of hopes, since the village is connected to the Star and bathes in its brilliance. About the maritime sequence, it had to stand out visually since, along with Pinocchio and his friends, we are faced with the very villain of the story. Honest John, Giddeon, Stromboli and the Coachman were just means to make Pinocchio question his attitude, help him be aware of the necessity of being a good boy. When Pinocchio goes and looks for his father, it is from a totally different perspective; Pinocchio is not the same person and the audience’s hopes totally rest upon him – hopes that are all the higher since the danger is high, taking place in the most unusual and extraordinary of surroundings for an animated cartoon. What results from that is the remarkable structure of the movie. Despite the very episodic nature of the story, reminiscent – even though simplified – of Collodi’s original narrative, an arc seems to appear, linking the two moments that demand the biggest efforts in terms of technical improvement and art direction.

That arc is not extraordinary when you think about traditional narrative structure, but, interestingly enough, it links art to technology (Multiplane, watery effects), and metaphorically, it evokes an association typical of Walt Disney between the values of the Old World and the ones of the New World. Whereas the climax of the film is based on the figure of the American little guy fighting the odds – in a kind of a David vs Goliath setting – nothing is spared, at the beginning of the movie, to praise and emphasize humility and humanity at is plainest and warmest, enhancing the delicate designs by European illustrator Gustaf Tenggren. This same emphasis can again be seen in the musical setting of these two moments, which demanded the greatest attention and skills from the composers, the classical way. More than a sonorous ornament that sets the atmosphere according to the picture, the end of the movie is a very well organized symphonic work, with genuine developments (Monstro Awakens), astonishing timbres (Deep Ripples) and a strong emotional core (Desolating Theme).

And the Whale Chase episode confirms that, through it violent rhythms and wild orchestrations, that required the joined efforts of both Harline and Edward Plumb, a former student of Johnan Strauss’ (who later did the impressive fire sequence in Bambi). So, plenty of effects, both visual and musical, yet never purposeless. Everything, from the stunning pictures to the excitment of the music, contributes to create a stricking contrast with the last scene: the transformation of Pinocchio into a real boy. That’s no big finale like at the end of Snow White, but rather the return to the village at the sound of the Turn on the Old Music Box theme, which we had discovered at the beginning at the film. Which leads us back to that very beginning of the movie, that long scene of introduction of the main characters that stands out even more now since it holds the key to the understanding of the film as a whole and its true meaning. For Walt Disney, that was the most important feature of his film. Besides, six months after the beginning of the production, he stopped everything. He was not satisfied with the original project and wanted to start over again.

That’s how unforgettable, secondary characters like Figaro and Cleo came along to enhance Pinocchio, Jiminy and Gepetto’s natural charm. The emotionally comfortable sound of that first scene comes from the European, Old World flavor of Harline’s score. We all remember the sound of the little music boxes of Gepetto’s Workshop, expressing all the charm and happiness of simple life, the resound joyfully for Pinocchio’s birth in Turn On the Old Music Box. In fact, it was the Studio’s sound effects men, who were at the same time true musicians, who played themselves this wonderful tune, in order to give it both a mechanical character through the sounds used, and a very musical and dancing character that a real music box could not have conveyed so well. We can also hear that kind of magical blending of glockenspiel, concertina and string pizzicati in the Clock Sequence cue. Harline also succeeded in conveying this atmosphere through his inspiration from popular, tradition European tunes (some, like Churchill, did it in The Dwarfs’ Yodel Song for Snow White). These melodies are Little Wooden Head, Old Gepetto and I’ve Got No Strings.

The harmony is elementary and the melodies are very catchy, which gives this very simple character a kind of a nostalgic flavour by going back to the roots of Western music. Ukulele Jiminy But Pinocchio is no backward-looking film. On the contrary, it is truly optimistic and always looking to the future. And this unique dimension is brought by nothing else than the music. The key here is Jiminy Cricket, whom Walt Disney decided to be Pinocchio’s conscience, “the Lord Keeper of the Knowledge of Right and Wrong”, when he started the film over again. His character is held exactly between Gepetto’s, Honest John’s and the Blue Fairy’s worlds; he is the link between the everyday life and the supernatural. The two most important songs of the film are his: Give a Little Whistle and, most of all, When You Wish Upon a Star – both American songs, because of their style, inspired by jazz. Give a Little Whistle is very up-tempo, with a swing touch to it, guitar, bass and drum, and mute trumpet, whereas When You Wish Upon A Star hangs for the most part on vocalist Cliff Edwards’ performance.

Walt Disney did not settle for an operatic voice for this main title (as he did, for instance, for the Prince, Harry Stockwell, in Snow White), but rather to a singer of the 20s, well-known as “Ukulele Ike”, who used to brilliantly sing jazz songs (he also voiced Jim Crow in Dumbo). So, with Walt Disney wanting a jazz singer for Pinocchio, Jiminy sings typically American songs, with a typically American style (of the time), where all the elements converge to the heights, to the Star: the pitch of the singer, the melodic line (ascendant ninths), and the lyrics, emphasizing the fact that honesty is the only richness that is worth in the fullfilment of dreams. An approach that echoes the speech Walt Disney delivered to the New York Opera on March 1st 1942, entitled Our American Culture. In that speech, he stands as a staunch patriot living in a country ruled by democracy and where culture is at everybody’s reach.

He also stresses the relationship between moral and arts (particularly his own, animation), talking about “a true and honest culture”, to better laud “tolerance, democracy and freedom [that] make every American stand up and cheer for our American way of life”. In that way, Pinocchio blends the best part of Europe and the best part of America, in order to promote a unique vision of modernity, at the opposite of positivism, where progress is not in the making a clean sweep of the past, in a forgetting of the past, or a getting rid of it. On the contrary, through his brilliant composers, Disney presents us with a humanistic vision of progress, a progress that knows where it comes from and where it goes. Pinocchio can only reach humanity and begin a new and honest life when he understands where he comes from – Gepetto, Figaro and Cleo – and their importance. Then, Pinocchio is no more a victim (of “Honest” John, or of the Coachman) and takes hold of his life, his destiny in order to change things, and improve them (which then makes him a true American character).

Hence the association, in the closing sequence cue Real Boy, of Turn On the Old Music Box and When You Wish Upon a Star: a unique blending of tradition and modernity, a subtle balance that makes all the Disney magic – and our dreams – come true! The Pinocchio Platinum Edition is available to buy on Blu-ray Disc now from Amazon.com Share with your friends: The History of Disney Music (with images) · jmcdnld7 · Storify Log In Sign Up The History of Disney Music Over the years Walt Disney Pictures has produced films with some of the greatest soundtracks in film history. This storify covers the historical backgrounds of various scores and how Disney soundtracks have effected film soundtracks as a whole. waltdisneystudios.com The Advent of Sound and Disney As most people know by now, before Disney was making films it made cartoons. Lucky for Walt, the advent of sound happened slightly before he got involved with filmmaking. The Jazz Singer (the first film with synchronized sound), which came out in 1927, helped fuel Walt Disney's desire to create the first cartoon with synchronized sound.

He made that desire a reality with the ever popular Steamboat Willie, released in 1928 as the first cartoon with synchronized sound. Walt Disney Animation Studios' Steamboat Willie Thu, Aug 27 2009 20:06:11 And for those of you wondering if Steamboat Willie was truly the first cartoon with sound, truthfully the answer is no. Probably a more appropriate title for it is the "The First Cartoon with SUCCESSFUL synchronized sound." In May of 1924, " Dave and Max Fleischer's Inkwell Studios produced seven sound cartoons, part of the Song Car-Tunes series. However the Song Car-Tunes failed to keep the sound fully synchronized while Steamboat Willie was produced using a click track to keep the musicians on the beat." - (wikipedia) So Steamboat Willie rose to the top as both a technological and commercial success.

Disney's Animated Features of the 1930s-1940s (Snow White & The Seven Dwarfs, Pinocchio, Dumbo, Fantasia, and Bambi) "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs" - UK VHS Closing w/ "Making Of" (1994) Mon, Jul 01 2013 18:59:06 Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs is already famous for being the first full length animated feature, but it also broke barriers in terms of music. It was the first film to commercially release a film soundtrack. Before Snow White, releasing a film's soundtrack was unheard of. Over twenty-five songs were composed for the film but only eight made it on to the final soundtrack. "The songs were written by Frank Churchill and Leigh Harline ans the score was composed by Paul J. Smith and Leigh Harline ." (Wikipedia). These four were responsible for most of the music of Disney's earliest animated features. From Snow White to Pinocchio, at least, one of these four were involved in some way which would explain while most Disney films of the 1930s-1940s had a similar sound.

Another interesting addendum of the music behind Snow White is that at this current point in time Disney did not have its own music publishing company, so the publishing rights for the music and songs were administered through Bourne Co. Music Publishers. Disney would not have its own music publishing company until 1949. The Making of Pinocchio (5/6) Fri, Oct 22 2010 19:11:15 Pinocchio & The Sound of Magic Pinocchio is another one of Disney's films that it's obviously historically significant in terms of its music. It won the Academy Award for best score in 1940 and you'd be hard pressed to find someone who doesn't know the song When You Wish Upon a Star.(the Academy Award Winner for Best Original Song). However, my personal opinion on what makes Pinocchio musically significant actually comes from the sound effects of the film. In this clip from The Making of Pinocchio, Mike Gabriel (Visual Development Artist) and Daniel Goldmark (music professor) talk about the variety of the sounds in the movie and in particular Walt Disney's knack for coming up with new and unique ways of representing sounds. I would have to agree with Mr.

Goldmark that the most revolutionary of those sounds is the sound of "magic." I find it appropriate that Disney should be the one to trademark the sound, being that magic and Disney are practically synonymous. The earliest sounds associated with magic (specifically with the Blue Fairy in Pinocchio) were created by using strings, a celesta (makes a keyboard high bell sound), and a Novacord. Even though what made the sound of "magic" would evolve, that sound is a standard in so many Disney soundtracks; from the score entitled Happy Ending in Disney's The Little Mermaid to the end of the track entitled The Kiss from Disney's Aladdin. But even the original sound of magic never lost its thunder. It would become the standard for many films to come even outside of Disney. Almost sixty years after Pinocchio, John Williams used a celesta in his composition Hedwig's Theme from the film Harry Potter & The Sorcerer's Stone. · Thu, Mar 31 2016 19:46:57 Disney's Fantasia and Fantasound Disney's Fantasia is interesting in the sense that it's both antiquated and revolutionary at the same time.

Having a more or less silent film that's accompanied by music is actually an old kind of movie style. The first films were all silent and any sound that went with it would have come from a live orchestra or piano accompaniment in the theaters in which they were shown. However, creating this effect of surround sound in a recording had never been done before, and Fantasia was all about breaking new barriers; not just in film but in music as well. "The concept of matching animation to classical music was used as early as 1928 in Disney's cartoon series, the Silly Symphonies , but he [Disney] wanted to go beyond the usual slapstick, and produce shorts were "sheer fantasy unfolds ... action controlled by a musical pattern has great charm in the realm of unreality." After receiving the rights for the music he wanted, Disney also considered using a well-known conductor to record the music for added prestige. He was fortunate enough to meet Leopold Stokowski (conductor of the Philadelphia Orchestra) who agreed to be the conductor for Fantasia at no cost. With everything in place to make this animated feature set to the sounds of classical music, Disney still wasn't done with his innovations.

For the soundtrack of Fantasia Disney wasn't interested in doing the same old thing. He wanted to explore a more sophisticated way of recording and reproducing sound. He said, "Music emerging from one speaker behind the screen sounds thin, tinkly and strainy. We wanted to reproduce such beautiful masterpieces ... so that audiences would feel as though they were standing at the podium with Stokowski." The creation of Disney's dream would take a lot of work and technological innovation. It took seven weeks, thirty-three microphones, and over a hundred and ten musicians to record the soundtrack of Fantasia, and it all took place at the Academy of Music (home of Stokowski's Philadelphia Orchestra). The music was recorded "onto eight optical sound recording machines placed in the basement. Each machine represented an audio channel that focused on a different section of instruments: cellos and basses, violins, brass, violas, and woodwinds and tympani. The seventh channel was a combination of the first six while the eighth provided an overall sound of the orchestra at a distance.

[56] [59] [60] A ninth was later added to provide a click track function for the animators to time their drawings to the music." But recording the music was only half the battle, the second part was finding a way to reproduce what they had recorded. That way was through Fantasound, one of the first stereophonic sound reproduction systems. In it's most simplest description, Fantasound was two main projectors and three "house" speakers. One projector played the movie with a mono track recording while the other played the movie with the eight multi-track recording. The three speakers positioned at the left, right, and center of the auditorium acted as surround channels. The overall affect was "surround sound." Today, surround sound is a film standard, but it wouldn't have been possible without the technological innovations made on the recording of the soundtrack of Disney's Fantasia. Mon, Apr 07 2014 04:43:30 Dumbo For the most part, this storify has been discussing how the history of Disney music has affected music/soundtrack recording and reproduction as a whole, but Dumbo is a great example of a Disney soundtrack that was affected by history.

It was the first of Disney's animated features that actually seemed to be set in present time (1941), and the music reflected the time period. Most of the vocal numbers pull from popular music styles of the time. Songs like Lookout For Mr. Stork seem to be influenced by the 1940s crooners while other songs like When I See An Elephant Fly seem to pull from 1940s gospel or R&B. Although the soundtrack did fantastically, winning an Academy Award for best score,there are some ways in which it wasn't so successful. Some of the songs from the soundtrack of Dumbo are culturally shameful. The shame I speak of comes from the racists undertones of the music, specifically the track entitled Song of the Roustabouts. Dumbo - Song of the Roustabouts (English + subs) Mon, May 25 2009 23:52:45 The song shows up in the beginning of the film and accompanies a scene in which African American gandy dancers are putting up circus equipment. In some ways it is historically accurate.

In the 1940s most railroad workers were in fact African Americans and they did really sing "railroad songs" as they worked that would have sounded a lot like the Song of the Roustabouts. However, the lyrics are offensively stereotypical with lines like "We don't know when we get our pay and when we do, we throw our pay away" and "Grab that rope, you hairy ape!" It paints an arguably false picture of the African American male as financially irresponsible and having a happy-go-lucky attitude about doing slave like labor for a minimum wage. But, in Disney's defense it's all reflective of the times. This is the 1940s, we're talking Jim Crow, segregation, pre Civil Rights movements and the Civil Rights Act of 1964. A song like this would have been completely socially acceptable at the time. I'm sure African Americans weren't fond of it, but at this point in history they would have had no power over the music of Disney or the film making process (assuming that most - probably all- of the employees of the Walt Disney Company were white). Anyway, Dumbo is an example of music that works within it's context.

However, such a lyrics on a soundtrack would never be produced this day in time...or at least they wouldn't be socially acceptable. Mon, Apr 07 2014 05:44:29 Bambi There is not much to say about the music of Bambi from a historical sense. It too, one an Academy Award for best score, but besides that it didn't break many barriers. Like the music of Fantasia, the music of Bambi is less musical in style and more narrative in the sense that it's not individual characters singing songs as much as it is ambient music sung by choruses to move the story along. My favorite song by far, from this soundtrack, is Little April Showers. It's just a great record. The tune is catchy and everything from the singing style to the instrumentation mimics the sound of a springtime rain shower.

Bambi - Little April shower (English) Biography - Walt Disney, 1901-1966: It All Started with a Mouse (VOA Special English 2007-10-27) Walt Disney, 1901-1966: It All Started with a Mouse Download MP3 (Right-click or option-click the link.) I'm Shirley Griffith. And I'm Ray Freeman with the VOA Special English program, PEOPLE IN AMERICA. Every week we tell about a person who was important in the history of the United States. Today, we tell about Walt Disney and the movie company he created. (MUSIC: "When You Wish Upon a Star) That was the song "When You Wish Upon a Star." It is from Walt Disney's animated movie "Pinocchio." For many people, it is the song most often linked with Walt Disney and his work. The song is about dreams -- and making dreams come true. That is what the Walt Disney Company tries to do. It produces movies that capture the imagination of children and adults all over the world. Millions of people have seen Disney films and television programs.

They have made friends with all the Disney heroes: Mickey Mouse, Donald Duck, Snow White, Pinocchio, Peter Pan. Millions more have visited the company's major entertainment parks. There is Disneyland in California. Disney World in Florida. Tokyo Disneyland in Japan. Euro Disney in France. Probably no other company has pleased so many children. It is not surprising that it has been called a dream factory. Walter Elias Disney was born in Chicago, Illinois in nineteen-oh-one. His family moved to the state of Missouri. He grew up on a farm there. At the age of sixteen, Disney began to study art in Chicago. Four years later, he joined the Kansas City Film Ad Company. He helped make cartoon advertisements to be shown in movie theaters. Advertisements help sell products. In nineteen twenty-three, Walt Disney moved to Hollywood, California to join his brother Roy. He wanted to be a movie producer or director. But he failed to find a job. So he decided to make animated movies. In them, drawings are made to move in a lifelike way. We call them cartoons. Disney the artist wanted to bring his pictures to life. A cartoon is a series of pictures on film. Each picture is a little different from the one before.

Each shows a tiny change in movement. When we see the movie, the pictures seem to be alive. The cartoon people and animals move. They speak with voices recorded by real actors. Disney opened his first movie company in the back of an office. For several years, he struggled to earn enough money to pay his expenses. He believed that cartoon movies could be as popular as movies made with actors. To do this, he decided he needed a cartoon hero. Help for his idea came from an unexpected place. Disney worked with Ub Iwerks, another young artist. They often saw mice running in and out of the old building where they worked. So they drew a cartoon mouse. It was not exactly like a real mouse. For one thing, it stood on two legs like a human. It had big eyes and ears. And it wore white gloves on its hands. The artists called him "Mickey." Earlier filmmakers had found that animals were easier to use in cartoons than people. Mickey Mouse was drawn with a series of circles. He was perfect for animation. The public first saw Mickey Mouse in a movie called "Steamboat Willie." Walt Disney himself provided the voice for Mickey Mouse. The film was produced in nineteen twenty-eight. It was a huge success.

Mickey Mouse appeared in hundreds of cartoons during the years that followed. He became known all over the world. In Japan, he was called "Miki Kuchi." In Italy, he was "Topolino." In Latin America, he was "Raton Miquelito." Mickey soon was joined by several other cartoon creatures. One was the female mouse called "Minnie." Another was the duck named "Donald," with his sailor clothes and funny voice. And there was the dog called Pluto. Mickey Mouse cartoons were extremely popular. But Walt Disney wanted to make other kinds of animated movies, too. In the middle nineteen thirties, he was working on his first long movie. It was about a lovely young girl, her cruel stepmother, and the handsome prince who saves her. It was "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs." "Snow White" was completed in nineteen thirty-seven after three years of work. It was the first full-length animated movie to be produced by a studio. It became one of Hollywood's most successful movies. Movie experts say Walt Disney was responsible for the development of the art of animation. Disney's artists tried to put life into every drawing. That meant they had to feel all the emotions of the cartoon creatures.

Happiness. Sadness. Anger. Fear. The artists looked in a mirror and expressed each emotion. A smile. Tears. A red face. Wide eyes. Then they drew that look on the face of each cartoon creature. Many movie experts say Disney's art of animation reached its highest point in nineteen forty with the movie "Pinocchio." The story is about a wooden toy that comes to life as a little boy. Disney's artists drew two-and-one-half million pictures to make "Pinocchio." The artists drew flat pictures. Yet they created a look of space and solid objects. "Pinocchio" was an imaginary world. Yet it looked very real. Disney made other extremely popular animated movies in the nineteen forties and nineteen fifties. They include "Fantasia," "Dumbo," "Bambi," "Cinderella," "Alice in Wonderland," "Peter Pan," "Lady and the Tramp," and "Sleeping Beauty." These movies are still popular today. In addition to cartoons, Walt Disney produced many movies and television programs with real actors. He also produced movies about wild animals in their natural surroundings. Real or imaginary, all his programs had similar ideas.

In most of them, innocence, loyalty and family love were threatened by evil forces. Sad things sometimes happened. But there were always funny incidents and creatures. In the end, good always won over evil. Disney won thirty-two Academy Awards for his movies and for scientific and technical inventions in filmmaking. In nineteen fifty-five, Walt Disney opened an entertainment park not far from Hollywood, California. He called it "Disneyland." He wanted it to be the happiest place on Earth. Disneyland recreated imaginary places from Disney movies. It also recreated real places -- as Disney imagined them. For example, one area looked like a nineteenth century town in the American West. Another looked like the world of the future. Disneyland also had exciting rides. Children could fly on an elephant. Or spin in a teacup. Or climb a mountain. Or float on a jungle river. And -- best of all -- children got to meet Mickey Mouse himself. Actors dressed as Mickey and all the Disney cartoon creatures walked around the park shaking hands. Some critics said Disneyland was just a huge money machine. They said it cost so much money that many families could not go. And they said it did not represent the best of American culture. But most visitors loved it.

They came from near and far to see it. Presidents of the United States. Leaders of other countries. And families from around the world. Disneyland was so successful that Disney developed plans for a second entertainment and educational park to be built in Florida. The project, Walt Disney World, opened in Florida in nineteen seventy-one, after Disney's death. The man who started it all, Walt Disney, died in nineteen sixty-six. But the company he began continues to help people escape the problems of life through its movies and entertainment parks. This Special English program was written by Shelley Gollust. I'm Shirley Griffith. And I'm Ray Freeman. Join us again next week for another PEOPLE IN AMERICA program in Special English on the Voice of America. When You Wish: The Story of Walt Disney - TheaterMania.com Send Email When You Wish: The Story of Walt Disney The name on the title may be Walt Disney, but the star of this production is choreographer Lee Martino Jonas Schwartz • Los Angeles • Oct 25, 2013 Andy Umberger (Roy Disney) and Tim Martin Gleason (Walt Disney) in When You Wish: The Story of Walt Disney.

(© Ed Krieger) The genius of Bob Fosse was that he would put a dance routine where one did not warrant it and make the choreography vital to the plot or characterizations. Lee Martino's choreography in When You Wish: The Story of Walt Disney , now playing at the Freud Playhouse , erupts in situations a lesser choreographer would ignore and transforms those moments into invigorating pieces. As a result, Martino lifts up this spirited but dated musical. The musical focuses on Walt Disney's lean years as a struggling animator and producer before Mickey Mouse turned him into a household name. At a time when society underestimates or dismisses him, Walt (Tim Martin Gleason) devises groundbreaking ideas such as inserting live actors into cartoons, adding synchronized sound to cartoons, producing the first feature-length animated film, and building an enormous amusement park so that children of all ages can experience movie magic in the real world. His stubbornness and lack of business sense exasperates his brother and partner, Roy (Andy Umberger), and alienates him from his animators, particularly his star employee, Ub Iwerks (Louis Pardo). Dean McClure's original score recalls the old-fashioned but pleasant early Jerry Herman shows.

Several tunes are lovely, including the two duets, "Someone In Love" and "Avenue of Dreams," for Walt and his loving wife (played by Brandi Burkhardt). His group numbers are peppy, including "Always A Wolf At The Door" and "Mickey Who," with some clever rhyming connecting "Mickey who" with "Don't Call Us. We'll Call You." Unfortunately, the ballads are bland and drag down the show. In a cleverly staged finale, where the talented dancers represent characters from Disney's most famous movies, the musical underscoring lacks the flavor of the original film scores. It is a shame that the producers didn't team up with Disney Theatricals so this scene would have had access to classic tunes like "When You Wish Upon A Star" from Pinocchio, "A Dream Is a Wish Your Heart Makes" from Cinderella, or "You Can Fly" from Peter Pan. BUY TICKETS The fact that the script does not whitewash Disney's more frustrating traits gives the show depth. The audience sees how Disney could be his own worst enemy. The play also exemplifies his genius for thinking outside the box and ignoring practicality for imagination.

Much of the dialogue is impassioned and heartfelt, but the narration, spoken by Roy throughout the show, is mostly expository and repetitive. Director Larry Raben smartly utilizes mixed media, including animation and visual scenery, building a concrete sense of scene, expanding the show making it look more epic than the budget should allow. Martino mixes dance crazes of the eras, including Charleston, jazz, and interpretive, with dazzling results. She ingeniously utilizes silhouettes to tie the moves to the film medium. Her dancers are put through the ringer with sequences of choreography demanding both technical precision and stylistic artistry. As Walt, Gleason has a sturdy voice and inhabits him with spirit and a relatable cluelessness about the real world. Umberger finds humor and strength in the protective brother who lives in his younger brother's shadow but is financially responsible to solve his brother's risky schemes, many which flop. Burkhardt is enchanting as Walt's dutiful and loving wife, Lillian. Her lyrical singing voice makes McClure's melodies sound romantic. The inspiration for musicalizing Walt Disney's life makes sense. His movies always had an appreciation for memorable melodies.

In this present incarnation, though, When You Wish: The Story of Walt Disney lacks the potency that such a genius deserves. 12 Fib-Free Facts About 'Pinocchio' | Mental Floss 12 Fib-Free Facts About 'Pinocchio' DisneyBluRayDVD via YouTube Like us on Facebook Imagine that you're Walt Disney and you're coming off of 1937's Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, a total industry game-changer; a movie that inspired a special Academy Award and caused The New York Times to write , "Thank you very much, Mr. Disney, and come again soon." How do you top yourself? Well, Disney tried to do it with Pinocchio. The studio was partially successful: the movie was a critical darling, but a box office bust. Turns out that turning a lying marionette into a sympathetic, likable character was a task even Disney struggled with. How they tried to accomplish it is just one of the 12 fib-free facts we rounded up on this 1940 classic. 1. LIKE MANY OTHER DISNEY MOVIES, IT WAS BASED ON A BOOK.

The Adventures of Pinocchio was a children's book by Italian author Carlo Collodi, originally published in 1883. If you think the Disney version is dark, you should read the original—Pinocchio is stabbed by assassins and hanged halfway through the book, though he's later rescued and turned into a real boy by the "Child with the blue hair." 2. ANIMATORS WERE STYMIED ABOUT HOW TO DRAW PINOCCHIO. They were unsure whether to draw him with human movements or with wooden movements. Animators struggled for 18 months, until animation director Milt Kahl (one of Disney's Nine Old Men ) decided to blend the two ideas, giving Pinocchio human-like motions, but adding puppet-like joints and screws to the mix. 3. THE PUPPET WENT THROUGH SEVERAL DIFFERENT PERSONALITY CHANGES. At one point Walt wanted him to be “fresh” and wise-cracking, similar to Edgar Bergen’s Charlie McCarthy dummy. Another version certainly wouldn’t have flown with family audiences: a “lusty” Pinocchio would have grabbed at the Blue Fairy whenever she appeared. 4.

DISNEY LEGEND WARD KIMBALL ALMOST QUIT—UNTIL WALT PUT HIM IN CHARGE OF JIMINY CRICKET. Animator Ward Kimball was still upset about scenes of his that were cut from Snow White and was in Walt’s office to tender his resignation. Instead, Walt asked Kimball if he would lead the charge on animating Jiminy Cricket, a tricky assignment, since no one was sure how to make the little insect look appealing. “God, he did such a wonderful job, that I walked out very happily and said, ‘What a wonderful place this is,’” Kimball later recalled . 5. JIMINY CRICKET WAS INSPIRED BY A COUPLE OF DIFFERENT PEOPLE. DisneyBluRayDVD via YouTube When Walt explained the character to Kimball, he mentioned that Jiminy Cricket reminded him of his own “beloved addled Uncle Ed.” After hearing Walt’s vision, Kimball originally designed a character that looked more like a real cricket—feelers, bulging eyes, and an elongated body. Walt called it “gross,” so Jiminy changed into a little man with a big head bearing little resemblance to a real bug.

“He was a cricket because we called him a cricket,” Kimball said, and later explained how much he eventually grew to hate the character. “I hated that cricket. I got sick of drawing that oval head looking in every direction. His coat I borrowed from the man on the Johnnie Walker scotch bottle. In the back it curves and splits in the middle so it resembles cricket wings.” 6. FIGARO THE CAT WAS WALT'S FAVORITE CHARACTER. DisneyBluRayDVD via YouTube Though Figaro is a relatively minor character in the movie, Walt loved the cat so much that he found another role for him when Pinocchio was over: Minnie Mouse's pet. Minnie already had a pet cocker spaniel, but it was ousted in favor of Figaro. 7. JIMINY SUFFERS A SURPRISING FATE IN THE BOOK. The cute little conscience incarnate was only a minor character in the book—and he dies when Pinocchio throws a hammer at him. It was Walt’s idea to expand the character, but he didn’t hit upon the idea until after the storymen had completed the script. They had to go back and rework Jiminy Cricket into the entire movie. 8.

PINOCCHIO WON TWO ACADEMY AWARDS. Both involved the movie’s spectacular music. Paul Smith, Leigh Harline and Ned Washington won the Oscar for Best Original Score; Harline and Washington won Best Song for “When You Wish Upon a Star.” The latter, of course, has become a theme song for the Disney company over the years. 9. A SONG CALLED "HONEST JOHN" WAS CUT FROM THE FILM. Performed by Disney mainstay Thurl Ravenscroft (also known for his voiceover work as Tony the Tiger) and his group The Mellomen, “Honest John” didn’t make the final movie, but here’s a demo: Ravenscroft did appear in the movie in another way, though: He provided the roars for Monstro the whale. 10. THE MOVIE WAS A CRITICAL SUCCESS, BUT A BOX OFFICE FAILURE. Critics raved about how perfect the movie was. The Los Angeles Times critic said , “Pinocchio tops any animated cartoon I ever saw,” and The New Republic wrote that it “brings the cartoon to a level of perfection that the word cartoon will not cover.” But you wouldn’t know it from the box office.

In some markets, Pinocchio barely made a tenth of what Snow White had. Walt believed the movie suffered from competition with Gone with the Wind, which had opened not long before. And he later admitted that "Pinocchio lacked an intangible something.” Critics still love the film today, by the way—it’s one of just a handful of movies to achieve a 100 percent rating on Rotten Tomatoes. 11. MEL BLANC VOICED GIDEON THE CAT. Walt hired Mel Blanc to voice the villainous sidekick character after hearing Blanc's hiccupy “drunk” impersonation. Blanc recorded all of his lines in 16 days and received $50 per day —but if you’ve seen the movie, you might remember that Gideon the Cat is mute. Disney ended up being worried that audiences would think the cat was drunk, and reduced Blanc’s lines to a single hiccup, which Blanc didn't find out until the movie premiered. Good thing he had that whole Bugs Bunny thing to fall back on. 12. DISNEY PAID FOR CLIFF EDWARDS' GRAVESTONE.

Veteran vaudeville actor Cliff Edwards provided the voice of Jiminy Cricket, including this gorgeous rendition of “When You Wish Upon a Star”: Unfortunately, Edwards' drug and alcohol addiction affected his work greatly. His career began to decline, and by 1969, he was no longer in the employ of the Walt Disney Company. They did, however, quietly pay his medical bills. In the early ‘80s, someone in the company was informed that Edwards had never received a proper headstone after his death in 1971. Disney purchased a simple marker that paid tribute to “Ukulele Ike,” the persona Edwards was known for back in the vaudeville days. More from mental_floss...

Question: In which Walt Disney film does the song 'When You Wish Upon a Star' appear?
Answer: Pinocchio